Garment-supporting form.



E. K OLB'ERT. GARMENT SUPPORTING FORM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 6, I915- Patented Oct. 9, M7.

219M vw/am I i nDwAnnKoLBnR'r, on NEW YORK, n. Y.

I enrannur surronrme roam.

1,242,703. Specification of basement. Patented oat. 9, 191a.

To-aZZ whom it may concern: I

Bev it known that I, EDWARD KOLBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough and county of Bronx, in the city and State ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporting Forms, of which the following is a specificatlon.

This invention relates to garment supporting forms to be utilized for packing garments in boxes to prevent crushing or creasing thereof, and which. can also be used as a hanger or for displaying a garment to the best advantage in such a manner that the garment will resemble approximately the natural curvature of the form, and relates particularly to a garmentform of this character consisting of a fiat sheet of suitable material shaped at the upper portion to conform to the shoulders of a garment and provided at the lower portion with tongues adapted to be folded in such amanner as to raise the central portion of the sheet to give it a bust form. It is the primary object of the invention to provide improved means integral with the sheet to retain the form in folded position, thereby improving the general character of the form, to cheapen. the cost of manufacture and increase the efficiency thereof. r

In garment forms of this type as heretofore constructed the sheet is slitted to form the tongues at the lower portion and the. tonguesfolded over each other in order to form the bust. By this construction when the tongues are folded over each other the form is rigid and non-pliable with the result that should pressure be applied to the front of the form, due to the nature, of the material from which the forms are madeusually cardboard-will break and thereby be destroyed. It is a further object of the present invention to overcome this disadvantage and to provide a resilient or yield ing garment form the inherent tendency of which is to always spring outward and maintain its bust form, but which will read ily give or yield when pressure is applied to the front and spring back to its original position when the pressure is removed. For this purpose the sheet has a series of recesses extending up from the bottom the upper ends of which are preferably of curved formation to provide lateral tongues at the lower lateral portions spaced from the main portion of the sheet and which are 'Applicationfiled March 6, 1915. Serial No. 12,509.

adaptedfto be folded the central portionof the sheet and each other and retained insuch posltlon by integral interengaging or interlocking means.v 1 v A further objectlof the invention is to pro,-

yide improved means toretain the tongues in folded'position, consisting of tabs formed integralwith the lateraltongues adapted to interengage orinterlock with each. other or witha slot in the-centraltongue.

Another object of theinvention is to provide supports, for the sleeves ofagarment for which. purpose: the sheet has integral therewlth laterally projecting portions adj a-.

cent, the top to engagev inthe sleeves of a garment. I

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan View of a garment form showing an embodiment of my invention. 7

Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing the form in folded position; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the, line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Similar characters of reference designate like parts throughout the different views of the drawings. 7 1

The embodiment of my improved garment supporting form illustrated in the drawings consists of a single sheet of suitable material, such as cardboard (designated in a general wayby 6) having a centrally projecting portion at the top, as at 7, having an aperture 8. for the engagement of a hook or the like to uspend the form therefrom when the form is utilized asa hanger. The upper edges of the sheet slope downward from said central projection, as at 5, to conform to the shoulders of a garment and constitute a support therefor, and such sloping top edges sweeping into portions 9, 9 projecting beyond the Extending up from the bottom are a series of recesses 12, in the present instance two in number, with the upper ends of curved formation, as shown. By theprovision of these recesses tongues 13 and 15 'are'formed on the lower lateral portion of the sheet spaced from the'central portion'let of'the sheet with the tabs 11 formedvon the lateral tongues, as shown, and the central portion 15 having a slot 16. The lateral tongues 13 and 15 are'adaptedto be folded overthe central portion 14L and to overlapeach other, and in such folded and overlapped positionthe tab portions of the lateral tongues I are adapted to interlock to retain the side tongues in such position, or engage in the central opening 16 to retain them in such position, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. By so folding the lateral tongues the sheet or form will assume the'position shown in Fig.3 with the central portion ofthe sheet raised and slopingor inclining down toward the top and bottom and toward the sides thereby resembling and conforming approximatelyto the natural curvature of the bust of the human form.

It-will be'noted that when the tongues are folded the cut out or recessed portions 12 will form openings 17 (Figs. 2and 3) and by the provision of th'ese openings the sheet when folded constitutes a resilient and yielding structure and should any p-ressure be applied to the front of the folded form the same will yield and as soon as the pressureis removed the form will springback to its original folded position. Should pressure beapplied to the sides or lateral portions of the folded form the lateral tongues-willreadily give or yield and when the pressure is'removed will also spring back to their original position.

When the form has been folded the. garment is placed thereon, and the said form may serve as a hanger for the garment or a display form for the garment, the curvature of the form holding the garment in 'its natural position preventing any possibility of the garment wrinkling or creasing. WVhen the form is utilized for packing and shipping a garment in a box or the like not only is the garment held in its natural shape butis prevented" from having any sliding movement in the box. Should the container or box with the garment supported by the vision of the projections9 or sleeve supports,

which are in the nature ofcshoulder extensions, thesleeve where it :is connected to the body of the garment is held to its proper form. Should it be desired to use the; form inconnection with narrow garments the form is provided-with scoringor the like as at 9 to permit of readily bending. back the portions '9, the line of such scoring being in line with the sides.

Variations may be resorted to. within the scope of my invention.

Having thus. described .my invention, I claim:

--A blank for a garmentsupporting: form consisting of a= sheet of flexible resilient :material having theupper edgevshaped to conform to the shoulders of a garment, recesses extending upward. from the opposite end of the sheet :to substantially..midway of the sheet with the sides'of the recesses substantially parallel: and spaced apart, :saidrecesses providingthe lower portion ofthe-sheetwith a central-tongue and lateral tongues spaced therefrom; the central :tonguehaving a transverse slot. adjacent .its extremity, and thelateral tongues having-notches on. their outeredges to form :ta-bs integraltherewith at: their extremities, v said. lateral: tongues adapted to be folded over thecen-tral tongue and :the notched ends both inserted into the central tongue slot? to: actas the securing means to'hold the lateral tongues in folded: position, substantially as. and for the; purpose specified.

EDVVARD KOLBERT. 'WVitnesses JAGJLANDY,

JOHN O. SEIFERT.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner. .of. Patents. Washington, 111. 0. 

